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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoChris Russell | Dispatch file photoScotts’ goal is to develop grass that requires less mowing, is easier to keep weed-free and can be maintained on very little water.

After nearly two decades of research and some controversy, Scotts Miracle-Gro in Marysville is
preparing to test a genetically modified grass seed in the family lawns of a small number of
employees this growing season.

The employees will test Kentucky bluegrass that has been modified to protect it from being
killed by Roundup, the weedkiller produced by agricultural giant Monsanto.

The employee testing “is a major step forward,” Scotts CEO Jim Hagedorn told shareholders at
their annual meeting yesterday. “I think we will see limited commercial activity the following year
(2015), and I think, if all goes well, much more (activity) in the consumer market in 2016.”

Scotts essentially shut down its biotechnology operation after its genetically modified
bentgrass — a grass variety whose lightweight pollen is easily spread by the wind — escaped from an
Oregon test field in 2003. The failure illustrated how hard it is to contain experimental plants
until regulators deem them safe.

Scotts’ modified Kentucky bluegrass might be easier to contain because its pollen is heavier,
said John Finer, an Ohio State University professor whose Wooster lab works to optimize gene
transfer and expression in plants.

Still, the controversy surrounding genetically modified crops seems to grow by the day. Critics
point to research that shows that such crops could be detrimental to human health and to the
environment. The crops also pose a significant commercial threat to farmers who produce organic
foods or seeds.

“You’re not going to be eating this grass, so what’s the problem?” Alexis Baden-Mayer, political
director for the Organic Consumers Association, asked rhetorically. Scotts’ genetically modified
grass could be dangerous to the environment because its Roundup resistance could be transferred to
weeds, leading to greater use of Roundup or more toxic herbicides, Baden-Mayer said.

The U.S. Agriculture Department regulates genetically modified crops. But in 2011, the federal
regulator exempted Scotts’ genetically modified Kentucky bluegrass from regulation because of the
way in which the seed was modified.

Scotts, as a maker of home- and garden-care products, got into genetic seed modification in 1998
when it struck a partnership with Monsanto to develop grass and flower varieties that were immune
to Roundup.

If no one beats Scotts to the market, it will be the first producer of what it calls “enhanced
turf grass,” which is designed to grow slower, require less mowing, be easy to keep weed-free “with
the most-benign active ingredients possible, and we believe, that requires a lot less water,”
Hagedorn said.

The engineered grass also produces lawns that are “much-deeper green than lawns are today,” he
added.

The goal is to develop sustainable grass, especially for drought-prone areas, said Scotts
spokesman Lance Latham.

The market opportunity for the enhanced grass seed is substantial. “If you look at the
grass-seed category, it’s probably significantly north of $500 million and probably less than $1
billion,” Hagedorn said.

Now that the North American economy is finally looking up, Hagedorn feels good about consumer
sales rebounding this year. But it will take innovations such as the genetically modified grass
seed to carve out a bigger piece of his slowly growing industry.

Since Hagedorn all but shut Scotts’ biotechnology program almost a decade ago, a handful of its
scientists have continued to work on the grass seed.

“We’ve made tremendous progress,” Hagedorn said. “This is original work that Scotts people have
done on a short budget. I’m really proud of it.”